Possibly branching out -- Need feedback, please!

[elycelynne]

I've sailed with Holland America for seven cruises in a row and am thinking about trying something different for my next Caribbean cruise in the winter of 2017. Right now I'm looking at 10-day Eastern Caribbean sailings on both Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas and Royal Princess (on Princess if anyone was unclear). The ports for both are pretty similar and include Antigua and St. Kitts, neither of which I've been to.

 

I know that the Serenade is one of Royal Caribbean's more laid back ships, which is fine with me since I'm not exactly young and nimble, so having a bunch of bells and whistles that I probably wouldn't utilize wouldn't make for much of an advantage as far as I'm concerned. And I know that Royal Princess is a much newer ship.

 

Those two things aside, which ship would you recommend and why? (I should probably mention that I sail solo, just in case someone else who has done so has any additional feedback on positive or negative experiences.)

 

Thanks in advance!

[sail7seas]

What do you find most important in your cruises?

Lots of organized activities?

Lots of places to dine?

Liberal buffet hours?

Ship sponsored excursion?

RCL and Princess are quite different IMO

[elycelynne]

What do you find most important in your cruises?

Lots of organized activities?

Lots of places to dine?

Liberal buffet hours?

Ship sponsored excursion?

RCL and Princess are quite different IMO

 

I'm actually hoping that a 10-day itinerary on one of Royal Caribbean's Radiance-class ships, which are older and contain significantly fewer bells and whistles than the Navigator, Freedom and Oasis classes (gasp -- no skating rink!), would be a little more similar to Princess than a 7-day itinerary on one of their behemoths. I think I remember reading somewhere on CC that the food and service are better on their smaller ships.

 

I don't need nonstop organized activities (although a few more than what HAL typically offers would be nice). And if lots of places to dine and liberal buffet hours were important, I wouldn't have sailed on HAL seven times in a row! :D

[OCruisers]

Since you normally cruise on HAL, you will probably be happier on a Princess cruise. :)

[Roz]

I've only taken one Princess cruise, but it was solo, and they gave me 2 cruise credits instead of just one. I like the fact that they acknowledged I paid double. I didn't find major differences between HAL and Princess. I would sail Princess again, but overall I've found HAL's itineraries to be more interesting.

 

Roz

[Kamloops50]

Princess will be more to your liking than RCI. Princess is closer to HAL than RCI to HAL.

[elycelynne]

Unless Royal Caribbean's "differences" are really "negatives", I'm not really all that concerned about which one is closest to HAL. I just happened to have sailed with HAL up until now, but I'm open to other experiences. However, if the food and service (or anything else) on Royal Caribbean really suck, then that's definitely something to be taken into consideration.

Edited March 11, 2016 by elycelynne

[rkacruiser]

If you are interested in a veranda stateroom, be aware that a vast majority of reports by Royal Princess and Regal Princess guests that I have read express disappointment in the small size of the standard verandas. Some categories seem to have larger verandas, but my impression is that they are more costly.

 

I have never sailed on any of Royal Caribbean's newer ships. (Sole RCI experience was aboard Nordic Prince: a very good cruise in a miniscule stateroom)

[Aquahound]

IRight now I'm looking at 10-day Eastern Caribbean sailings on both Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas and Royal Princess (on Princess if anyone was unclear). The ports for both are pretty similar and include Antigua and St. Kitts, neither of which I've been to.

 

I've been on sister ships of both (Radiance and Regal). Without a doubt, I recommend the Serenade. I was not a fan of Regal. The rooms and balconies are tiny and there are no lounges that look out to sea. None! Radiance Class ships are beautiful. About the only negative I would give to Serenade is the main pool area is small.

 

Just for comparison. This is a standard balcony on Serenade:

 

 

And this is on Royal Princess. Notice how much smaller it is. Your knees touch the glass when sitting:

 

Edited March 11, 2016 by Aquahound

[Aquahound]

Unless Royal Caribbean's "differences" are really "negatives", I'm not really all that concerned about which one is closest to HAL. I just happened to have sailed with HAL up until now, but I'm open to other experiences. However, if the food and service (or anything else) on Royal Caribbean really suck, then that's definitely something to be taken into consideration.

 

Good point. Besides, in my experience, Princess and RCI are the 2 most similar cruise lines I've sailed as far as on board activities and entertainment. They do all the same game shows, have live bands playing and the main shows in the theater are the same (RCI newest ships withstanding). I've also cruised HAL 3 times and I don't think either is like HAL.

[Ashland]

Princess will be more to your liking than RCI. Princess is closer to HAL than RCI to HAL.

 

And this is a good thing :confused:

 

I personally have no interest in HAL even at my young age of 65+ I don't care to be some of the youngest onboard.

 

I have tried PCL..once was enough...I'll stick with RCI...JMHO

[janetz]

Although I have not sailed the Serenade, I have the Royal. The Royal is in my opinion, a stunning ship. Most of the Princess ships are lovely.

The crew is great and aim to please.

We rarely will eat at the buffet but the Royal Princess surprised us with the choices they offered and the MDR food was excellent. We are not big foodies but I feel you can sail this ship and not have to entertain the thought that you have to dine in a specialty restaurant to eat well.

There are no lifts mid ship so I advise booking a cabin forward or aft. We were forward on the Lido deck. It was perfect. The balcony was small but that was not a big deal for us.

Edited March 12, 2016 by janetz

[cb at sea]

Any ship is fine...you are overthinking this! It's a Caribbean cruise. They are more alike than different!

[Aquahound]

To be fair, Royal Princess does have some advantages. Janetz mentioned the buffet. Frankly, I've never seen a buffet like that on a cruise ship. It's the best in the industry, I think.

 

Both ships have adult pools. Regal's is much larger and outdoors, whereas Serenade has a glass cover....that can be and sometimes is opened. Of course, Royal Princess also carries about 1000 more passengers. It's up to you which one looks more appealing.

 

Princess Royal Class:

 

 

RCI Radiance Class:

 

[janetz]

To be fair, Royal Princess does have some advantages. Janetz mentioned the buffet. Frankly, I've never seen a buffet like that on a cruise ship. It's the best in the industry, I think.

 

Both ships have adult pools. Regal's is much larger and outdoors, whereas Serenade has a glass cover....that can be and sometimes is opened. Of course, Royal Princess also carries about 1000 more passengers. It's up to you which one looks more appealing.

 

Princess Royal Class:

 

 

RCI Radiance Class:

 

 

Oh, that is a lovely pool also. :)

[navybankerteacher]

And this is a good thing :confused:

 

I personally have no interest in HAL even at my young age of 65+ I don't care to be some of the youngest onboard.

 

I have tried PCL..once was enough...I'll stick with RCI...JMHO

 

Please give up the inaccurate "nearly dead" cliché.

[navybankerteacher]

While the ambience on Princess is likely to be somewhat closer to HAL's than that of RCI, one factor not yet mentioned is size: OP's HAL sailings were on ships of less than 2,500 passengers - which is what Serenade carries - while Royal Princess has3,600 -- a significant and noticeable increase, on a newer ship which is more likely to have a "new ship" feel well.

[elycelynne]

Any ship is fine...you are overthinking this! It's a Caribbean cruise. They are more alike than different!

 

I don't have a lot of disposable income. I would prefer not to carelessly throw what money I do have at just any old ship. With that logic, I could just sail on one of Carnival's oldest ships because it would be the same as any other ship. Except probably not so much.

Edited March 12, 2016 by elycelynne

[sail7seas]

Please give up the inaccurate "nearly dead" cliché.

 

Thank you. If those who call us HAL cruisers the 'nearly dead' are really lucky, they, too, will one day be Old~!

 

There is only one alternative to not growing old.

 

[JoyMouse]

I've only cruised on RCI, so I cannot compare to HAL or Princess, but I really like Royal's Radiance class of ships. I've not been on Serenade, but have been on two of her sisters. There are sea views everywhere including aft outdoor seating for the buffet. I like higher end travel, but also want value for my money. I find this with Royal. You are however going from a premium line to a mass market line, so some of the polish HAL has might not be there. I think RCI has a nice mix of generations and folks that would make a solo traveler feel more comfortable (I'm single/never married). I'm going on my first solo cruise on Jewel of the Seas this fall.

 

Here's a live review of a 10-day Serenade cruise from one of the RCI board's favorite reviewers. He's coming from a different perspective than you of course, but you may find it helpful if you haven't already found it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2279695

 

Either ship you chose, you will have a blast!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[JoyMouse]

Oh, and RCI's Crown and Anchor society does give solos double points if paying the single supplement.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Ashland]

Please give up the inaccurate "nearly dead" cliché.

 

"nearly dead"...Your words not mine.

 

Sorry my personal opinion offended you.

[navybankerteacher]

"nearly dead"...Your words not mine.

 

Sorry my personal opinion offended you.

 

Looking at your past cruise history it seems pretty clear that your "personal opinion" is not based upon any personal experience, and is most likely based upon overheard cliches.

 

I am not offended - simply embarrassed for you.

[SPacificbound]

The Radiance class ships are really pretty ships, lots of glass.

 

Serenade Of The Seas is going to dry dock some time in 2017 but the dates are TBA later.

[Keith1010]

It is always a nice idea to branch out and try new cruise lines if the opportunity is there.

 

Keith